And who so beautiful amongst all these beauties as Flora and Fanny! And now the bell rang inviting the guests to breakfast.

Sausage and herb pottage, dishes _a la fourchette_, and corresponding drams of strong spirit awaited them in the dining-room.

There was no affectation or finnicking now: all alike were sportsmen.

The sweetest, prettiest ladies did not refuse, at the request of their admirers, to moisten their rosy lips with a few drops of thirty-years old szilvorium: everything was permissible now, and, besides, they had need of strong hearts to-day.
Even the elderly women meant to accompany the huntsmen in carriages.
It was a glorious summer morning when the imposing cavalcade issued from the courtyard of Karpathy Castle.

First of all came the ladies, so many slim, supple amazons, on prancing steeds, in the midst of a circle of noisy youths, who made their own horses dance and curvet by the side of their chosen dames; behind them came the wags of the party, on splendidly caparisoned rustic nags; and, last of all, the elderly ladies and gentlemen in their carriages.